Welcome Home!

The late return of Julian Assange, to his Australian home, was fourteen long years overdue!

It comes as no surprise that the US featured shamefully throughout that time. Down the pecking order, it reflects woefully, upon any pretence at democratic autonomy, also, that the UK did not fare better. That other Western nations defaulted, too readily, to a position of (US) subservience should long since have been raising concerns amongst wider swathes of, especially, the EU than has been, and continues to be, the case.

Breaking down the issue, picking over the finer details, there are organisations who should truly hang their heads in shame! Chief amongst these would be that self-declared bastion of 'free speech,' the Guardian, who were formerly delighted to be able to work in collaboration with Assange and Wikileaks, before spinning about to thoroughly betray the man. During much of Assange's 'illegal' incarceration, having fully relinquished any moral stance, the Guardian often appeared to be bumbling about, uncertain whether the paper should be openly hostile, self-satisfactorily superior, or else to most often pretend that Assange's case was not worthy of its pages. Now that Assange is free maybe the paper will again be looking to realign? The BBC, with diligent and selective use of its new 'fact check' baby- and its regular pool of on-hand 'experts' and spokespeople- has too often chosen to fall neatly into compliance. In the Land of the Editor the investigative journalist becomes effectively defunct.

Alan Rusbridger becomes Katharine Viner and the deck is quietly (and thoroughly) shuffled!

We should expect no MSM 'observations' into how perfectly Julian's long-overdue release ties in with Israel's ongoing Genocide. For anyone who has viewed the infamous helicopter footage parallels with Israel's slaughter of the innocent must be plain to see. But bewilderingly very seldom, these days, do the client journalists seem 'able,' or prepared, to connect the dots!

In 2010, shocking- although not as surprising as portrayed- images of civilians, including two Reuters journalists, being routinely assassinated by a US Military helicopter was made available to the general public. Further and repeated details, within the thousands of documents leaked, strongly contests that such US slaughter, although not its reportage, has become widespread. The assassins' language seemed to imply that the whole cycle was not much more than some sort of sick game to the killers.

"Light 'em up!"
"Keep shoot'n', keep shoot'n'!"
"All right, hahaha, I hit 'em!"
"Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards!"
"Nice."
"Oh yeah, look at that! Right through the windshield! Haha!"
Ripe from the mouths of its troops, I give you the values of the Leaders of the Free World.'

Why is it, do we suppose, that some nations and their citizens are to be adjudged so 'inferior' to others? With so much news and so very many news images so freely available to so many, via so many outlets, for how much longer will it still be possible for MSM to continue to present the world we inhabit so very differently to its reality?

Whilst Assange is being illegally incarcerated, psychologically deprived and tortured, who gets to determine which is the true crime and who the criminal? What constitutes torture and who gets to deploy its use and to which ends? Who decides what is to be regarded as wholly repugnant and who is guarding whom against its wider enactment?

Again!
Why are some citizens and some nations to be regarded as 'inferior' to others? Expendable?

We should, instead, turn it about to sample the globe through the other end of that adjudicating telescope. MSM have repeatedly demonstrated that the task is neither within their remit, nor their current capabilities.

As did many others, my family tracked Julian Assange's progress- from Belmarsh, via Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, onward and onto Canberra's runway (0737 local time, 27th June 2024). The plea bargain had been struck yet one of the sides has long since depleted any semblance of honour that may once, many years past, have existed. Hence, the thousands who waited with bated breaths.

The cost to Julian Assange's family is US$520,000. Fortunately, those who argued Assange's innocence, demonstrated against his extradition and closely followed his captivity and psychological torture, raised the sum within hours.

The tiny island of Saipan is but one of over 800 US overseas military bases, many situated in countries that do not wish to host them, placs such as Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Over 80 other countries have thus been subjugated to the construct of a hidden US Empire. 'How to Hide an Empire,' by Daniel Immerwahr makes quite the read! Leader of the 'Free World,' America would have us believe that China (once again) is the rising threat to global peace and yet- sites may vary- its overseas bases barely number into single figures- Djibouti? Very much the focus of Western MSM, Putin's Russia, with clear and undoubted ambitions for, at the least, major regions of Ukraine, fares little better than does China. 'Overseas airbase' invariably implies 'overseas military airbase.' Further, 'overseas military airbases' are often, necessarily by nature and at least in part, covert, that is to say, they are not widely advertised as such.

There are several nations who have not, in their dealings with the Middle East, covered themselves in glory. But, whether we judge the USA via its Middle Eastern manipulation, its Central American aggression or even its hawkish dealings with its Western, so termed, 'allies,' it is one nation that stands head and shoulders above all others when it comes to invoking global instability!

So, the question: Why is it that some nations have been adjudged less worthy than others? And, a highly credible answer: Because they have, and continue to, show themselves to be so! They have shown themselves to be, in their international exploits, thoroughly repugnant!

Welcome home Julian Assange! It's wonderful to see a bit of positive global news, even if many of those client journalists have tried to pretend the headline is a very different one.

Theatre of Death

In a precision military operation four Palestinian child-hostages have been liberated from IDF cells, in the process of which two-hundred and seventy-four Israelis were killed. Multiple IDF terrorists were eliminated during the exercise. How would the UK's editorial gatekeepers have this hypothetical information relayed to a wider public?

What might be the 'message'- which with absolute certainty would be broadcast via the BBC- delivered by IDF Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari?

The instance never happened. Terrorised Palestinians never possessed the US weaponry with which to undertake such an operation, nor the military might, nor adequate US or UK drone footage, nor military supremacy over Israeli territory. Quite the reverse.

But, if such an incident had transpired, what would the wider population learn of the 'event' via its news media? What would the day's headlines be? US President Joe Biden would be dusted down and wheeled to the podium. What would be his message for Western ears?

Safe to assume, the evening news's imagery would not revolve around the smiling faces of the rescued children, in the grateful arms of their loving families. Reasonable to expect references to the likely unnamed 'four children' to frequently be prefixed by, 'merely,' 'just,' 'as few as,' 'only' or similarly diminutive adverbs or adverbial phrases. Little doubt that the imagery would be about as graphic as deemed editorially 'acceptable.' Each headlining repeat might well be preceded by a warning about the exceptionally graphic nature of the story. The imagery would be pushing at the boundaries of what currently passes for respectability. Licence to once again spread the disproven myth of beheaded babies would reignite.

The headline figure would far more likely be that of '274 Israeli victims.' Perhaps, the majority of news updates might not get so far as to even mention 'rescued children,' electing instead to concentrate upon the death toll and the unduly graphic imagery. Should 'rescued child-hostages' ever be permitted to squeak in the term 'hostages' will have been gleaned, the subject of their 'torture' would not be broached.

Britain's, and the US's ties with the State of Israel would benefit considerably! In a manner out of all proportion to the preceding eight month's Genocidal onslaught. Disproportionate segments of the day's news would be given over to the spokespeople of Israeli Government and the IDF. Daniel Hagari, or another such militia-man, would be afforded significant spotlight, under which to peddle the Israeli myth of, 'the most moral military on the planet.' The term 'Anti-semitism' would once again find itself widely sprayed upon the doubters, the non-lobby journalists, the marchers. Ministerial visits and photo-opportunities would ensue. Flights back and forth from the UK Cypriot base of Akrotiri would multiply. The desire to keep Akrotiri out of MSM headlines would be relaxed, maybe celebrated.

Parliamentary calls to ban Pro-Palestinian and Anti-Genocide marches would intensify! Demands that the language and certain phrases deployed amongst the marchers be legislated against would multiply. British Police Forces would be strongly urged to clamp down upon and further restrict events. Lord Walney, Lord Mann and Margaret Hodge would be booked to appear on TV and radio with increased frequency. Sir Keir Rodney Starmer- who's father was a tool-maker- might, once again, get away with stating that 'cutting off food, water, electricity was acceptable. ** Front bench droids would once again have their bigotry highlighted, unleashed!

Israel 'defending itself' would again be given the green light. Western arms would again flow with open endorsement. The death-toll would again accelerate, be more openly egged (cheered) on in both Houses, the Commons and the Lords.

* But, this did not happen! Instead two-hundred and seventy-four slaughtered Palestinians were routinely displaced by the four rescued Israeli hostages. Viewers were not shown footage of some of the in excess of 700 Israeli casualties being rushed into well-appointed Israeli hospitals, into the care of fully staffed and spotlessly clean wards and theatres, which did not anyway happen. Instead, in the absence of news camera-team footage- denied access by the IDF- imagery was substituted by phone images of sagging ceilings, shattered walls, smashed and trampled equipment, exhausted surgical teams operating upon the victims, ever wary of the next Israeli missile strike, bloodied child victims spread across the floors! David Lammy dons blinkers, once again unrestained!

News of two-hundred and seventy-four, and counting, Palestinian murders will swiftly be usurped with news of the General Election. Your chance to participate in the country's democracy. Which of two captured parties will prove victorious?

The 'game' of Israeli Genocide continues unchecked.

* The Guardian's Kenneth Roth questions the means by which the latest bout of Israeli slaughter was brought about.
** Novara's Polly Smythe has done some digging with regards to Labour's values under Sir Keir Starmer's new look party.

Biden dips a toe into Apartheid.

It has been said that the ICC was created 'to deal with African tin-pot dictators and those like Putin, never to bite the hand that created it.' I paraphrase. So, when the Courts finally ruled that arrest warrants are being sought for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant the rest-of-the-world, behind time, sat up and rubbed at its rheumy eyes. Why, the ICC cannot be there to judge also the Exceptionalist West! The UK Commons was soon blown full of indignation; characters, parodies, who would sit better with Trump's Republicans... or too many of Biden's Democrats. How very dare they!

While deaths pile high!


Hope as it might the US Nation is scarce able to disguise that 'dipped toe.' So instead, its dusty old figurehead defaults to gaslighting, full-blown apartheid... elsewhere, which sort of makes the nation also culpable. Has the ol' dodder missed his footing upon the bank and fully immersed himself? Colonialists, by nature, are best practised at exploiting international borders; so the US has form.

And deaths pile ever higher!


Apartheid was and is dependant upon the premise of racial 'superiority' and segregation. The former nation of South Africa honed and embedded an openly extreme model, reliant, then, upon Western allies in order to operate and to survive. Boldest amongst apartheid's friends was the nation of Israel. When international pressure prevailed and 'friends' fell away, emboldening the country's repressed majority, South African Apartheid's days became numbered. The globe witnessed its eventual demise in the early 1990s. Apartheid's former allies set about realignment and the pretence that they'd never actually endorsed and befriended the racism in the first place, flags were duly waved! Still the system left a stain upon the surface of the planet, or rather the stain, which had always been there, 'for a while' hardened about the African nation. Today the stain has wandered further afield- much like damage from a long-neglected leak, its more widespread contouring tidal marks may not always be immediately evident. But there are also sites of sustained damage, darkening borders, perhaps rust and other decay, perhaps jagged breaks, perhaps festering holes where societal structure has begun to fracture!

Nowhere is that societal fracture more evident than within the rogue state of Israel and being imposed upon the Palestinian Occupied Nation. Much as with former Apartheid South Africa, Israel is heavily dependent upon Western 'allies,' chief amongst these being the good ol' US of A. Yet, the globe is no longer that of the 1990s, it has become far more international; far more reliant upon sales pitch.

And deaths pile ever higher!


The US 'functions' hierarchically, even more so than does the UK: education, health, housing meted out accordingly; whether it be via 'ethnicity,' gender, 'school,' employment, wealth or that curiously amorphous creature, status. Yet Apartheid wields a particularly high (or low) bar! So instead, there substitutes an unspoken premium, a power premium!

Still the deaths pile ever higher!


When the momentous ICC announcement was delivered those lining up to rebuff and to pedal the Apartheid State's lie showed discouragingly bountiful! Yet, internationally respected giants such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B'Tselem, United Nations, African National Congress, Yesh Din, and International Federation for Human Rights, had long since investigated and adjudged Israel to have crossed the Apartheid threshold. Two of those listed operate as Israeli Human Rights organisations, based within Israel's current borders. Two opposing narratives battle for supremacy, one true, one false and enabling Genocide!

Individuals endowed with a power premium slip freely through society, relatively unhindered, whilst the majority citizenship must observe from afar, oft not even be permitted to peek behind the screens, likely blissfully unaware of the widening inequality. When Sunak's time is up he will likely demonstrate his true allegiance to nation, deploying his wealth premium in order to swiftly morph from UK resident to that of US. Much as the more extreme politics of Natalie Cecelia Elphic (OBE) are no barrier to her seamless 'transition' and assimilation within Sir Keir Rodney Starmer's (KCB KC) 'Labour Party.' Much as Luke Akehurst of Labour's NEC may decide to parachute himself into the safe seat of North Durham, where he is currently unknown. Not so much serving democracy as trampling all over and discarding it! Much as David Mencer's transition to Israeli spokesperson sees him so easily jettisoning that same Labour Party. Such individuals pseudo represent us, they pseudo speak upon our behalf, flirting as democrats as and when opportunity best self-serves. Lest we should doubt their integrity the likes of John Zak Woodcock, Baron Walney, crossbench peer and Government’s Independent Adviser on Political Violence and Disruption, is appointed to ensure that only the 'correct' slant of political discourse prevails. Alongside Labour's Margaret Hodge, the former Chair of Labour Friends of Israel, funded by that same nation, last managed to squeak a visit there in January 2024. The lobby group has deeply infiltrated the 'democratic' British Labour Party yet remains most cagey about from whence the funding comes.

Whilst the deaths continued to pile ever higher!


They may not always present well- honesty catches and burns in their throats- yet their premium sees them slip from role to role. Formerly 'committed' Labour man and Head of Labour friends of Israel, glides across continents, a new platform awaits. A parody of even himself, Mencer presents to the globe as the worst kind of apologist. One moment the man 'embraces' British Labour the next it is full-blown Israeli Apartheid. He makes entirely the same noises as he always has.

Whilst Palestinian deaths pile ever higher!


Mencer has adopted the role of useful idiot across continents. His petulant narration runs counter purpose. Even so he has played but a tiny part in the West's gradual conversion. So when University Campuses burst forth with peace encampments, much like spring flowers- Camps for Palestine blossoming across the West.- those who steer the West's MSM are not best pleased. Israeli, British and US bombs must continue to boost the infant death-tolls, the Zionists froth.

When masked mobs attacked the UCLA Peace Camp US Police stepped back and left the Zionists and other thugs to it for two hours before belatedly intervening. The attack, far in excess of any non-violent student actions, featured sticks and bats, and fireworks deployed as small munitions. Why, it was almost as if orders had been received prior to the first blow. US Police, notoriously hands on, simply stood back to observe, not quite yet reflecting the far more extreme IDF, standing back and permitting Israeli Colonists to attack and destroy long overdue supplies entering Gaza. Weaponising and enabling famine and disease!

Behind the curve, the link is to the BBC site. It has inexplicably taken months and tens of thousands of innocent deaths for the Corporation to finally start to dig into the live-streamed Genocide! This is the same BBC that so swiftly and obediently fell into line with '40 beheaded babies,' then, opted for silence over any form of retraction and correction, when it transpired, once and once again, that the IDF were lying.

Whilst Infant deaths pile ever higher!


When the ICC and ICJ were founded the UK assisted in laying the first stones, and yet... and yet... and yet... It seems evident that, at their infancy, the nation could not have anticipated that the Courts should ever be turned against one of the founding fathers. As colonialists, fast coming to recognise the global worth of legacy, both the ICJ and ICC were initially laid as means to not only order the globe but also, more covertly, as a means to organise and to discipline those other nations.

It had mattered not that Balfour's gift of a homeland had been fully occupied for centuries. The colonial nation's role was surely to order and to organise the lesser nations. Read my rules and know that the world is now better by my decree! But, for heaven's sake, do not think to interpret and deploy those same rules in any wider context! Do not compel the globe's great bully recourse to the humiliation of a full-blown hissy fit!

"Were there not an Israel, the US would have to invent an Israel to protect our interests in the region," a younger Biden once boasted! He might well have added, 'and continue to arm it to the teeth!' And, 'to seek to always draw a veil over the worst of its transgressions!' Then, 'to establish a hierarchy of racism!' Then, 'to establish a hierarchy of life-worthiness!' 'To the tune of countless thousands of innocents, children, infants!' 'Them and us!' Wrong-footed, eye off the ball, Biden thought to dip a toe, stumbled and grabbed at the nearest idiot. A NATO chain reaction ensued!

Whilst Infant deaths continue to pile!


It transpires that Israel has been hacking and threatening the ICC, ICJ and its members for nearly a decade. Little surprise that Israel is no friend to the ICC and ICJ. Thus far the US and UK have increasingly shown themselves stanchly unprepared to seek the moral higher ground, where toes are more easily kept dry.

If rulings from the International Courts are not respected and safeguarded at this juncture how will their authority serve when the welly is on the other foot?

Going, Going, Gone!

Whenever one finds oneself watching and/or listening to the UK Health Secretary, the Right Honourable Whoever- or the one before that, or the one before that, or the one before that, or the one before that, or the one before that, or the one before that, but let's stick with this one (4th September 2012- 9th July 2018) for the present, - one finds that it is but simple child's play to generate alarmingly high levels of quite visceral hatred. In the mix, one may encounter some highly unpleasant characters. Highly unpleasant! Arguably, one could venture back a deal further, or indeed presume to project forwards. But, let's stick with where this paragraph has taken us, the Right Honourable Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt.

'Visceral hatred!' That's significant, right? When I taught I would occasionally pick up certain children for their application of the term 'hatred. I'd try to explain that such a powerful reponse was inveriably far too extreme for such as a peanut butter sandwich, or a particular song, or football team- surely 'dislike,' or even 'strongly dislike' would invariably suffice. Surely. 'Hatred' is a value to attribute only in extreme circumstances, and often not even then, I'd try to convince. But, on the other hand, Jeremy Hunt was the Conservative Health Secretary for the best part of six years. He 'served' under both May and Johnson, in three different government incarnations, each of of them looking to impose greater cuts upon the health of the nation's families, each incarnation looking to impose its own particular brand of austerity.

Hunt was there when George Osborne (pal of Ed Balls) first brandished the sword of 'austerity' upon the public. He was there when the outcome of his government's preparedness for a 'potential' pandemic (Exercise Cygnus) was compiled and duly covered up. Hunt was the Health Secretary who ignored Cygnus's recommendations. He's no longer Health Secretary but he's still there or thereabouts- now he's Chancellor (14th October 2022, under Truss and now Sunak). Surely more in an ironic sense than otherwise, he has been labelled as 'one of the grown-ups.' Presented as such by such as those at the BBC. Hunt is both a deserving recipient of the term 'hatred,' as he is deserving of a far more sustained condemnation. But, here, he is merely the prelude. Neither is he 'broken,' instead he breaks others and other things. And yet he's extremely well practiced at ensuring that his own projection through life remains anything but broken. During his tenure as Culture Secretary (2010- 2012), Hunt bypassed the Competition Commission with Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation attempted takeover of BSkyB, forging closer ties with Uncle Rupert yet breaking things for so many others- something of a trait?

This post is about another of the things he has helped to break, our NHS. The findings are not scientifically compiled, they are, instead, anecdotal, concerned with a single eight hour visit to A&E in Norwich. Nor do these findings include the current headlining, 'contaminated blood,' outrage, although findings from this inquiry very much endorse the overall contention. Jeremy Hunt would have been very much 'involved' with this too! Neither should we permit the term 'anecdotal' to soften any condemnation- gathering data with which to damn the man would generate a far longer post and require far too much editing.

The night of the Northern Lights pain became so intense that I found myself unable to lie in bed, unable to sit, unable to stand, unable to cease with the foul language! When a lift to the Norfolk and Norwich initially proved equally untenable I limped outside to await an ambulance and to gaze up into the midnight sky- even in the city the heavens were lighting up. Up to five hours to appreciate the spectacular, we were informed. The sky showed tints of both purple and green. The pain was a more intense white! Most definitely, it was white! I assumed an approximation of a plank as we readied for a second attempt. Who knew there were quite so many speed bumps and potholes? Darker skies offered greater promise outside A&E and yet the hobble from car to entrance was due south, agony rest-stops instead devoted to suppression of pain, back to the Lightshow. Adjacent to the sliding entrance the screaming woman had the full attentions of several of the security staff.

Ambulatory was 'encouragingly' half as full as on a previous occasion. Other aspects of the 'visit' remained of undetermined concern. Attendees drifted, confused, unsure as to precisely where to deposit notes compiled upon arrival, careful not to step upon or trip over the child curled upon the floor. I declined either of the seats offered- one accompanying partner, one adult chaperone. I took up position, leaning into a wall, forehead resting against, set to alternating weight upon left or right foot. Stepping upon the spot, breathing!

A rare white coat drifted past. Was there music? Bodies twisted into chairs, dozed, stared vacantly, or else tried to kill time by chatting, subdued. Whether there was music or not regular announcements gradually became imprinted upon the subconscious: 'Neither physical nor verbal violence would be tolerated, offenders ejected and refused 'further' treatment,' 'The NHS team was a happy positive one, working towards everyone's betterment, recruiting now lest anyone was interested,' 'Pain relief could be readily acquired via one of the circulating members of staff,' of which there appeared to be very few, 'Those arriving by ambulance were not being prioritised over others.' It transpired that pain relief was of the Paracetamol variety, thus of limited worth, most patients either similarly or better equipped!

At some indeterminate time groaning from one highly distressed male- obscured from view- became evident, evidently without suitable pain relief. Later the groaning was accompanied by that of an, also unseen, female.

Twice I wandered outside to view the Lights, undignified upon the second return. Another distraction from the waiting. Questions ventured tended to illicit "can't" more often than not. Keepers of the pills were singularly miserly.

At some point whilst it was still dark outside I was wheeled to 'Radiology' for an x-ray. "Tuesday's MRI will reveal more!" Nothing broken... except to observe that very much is. A single squirt of opioid finally provided the pain relief some six-and-a-half hours late. An additional suppository was less gratefully received, just about enough to make the drive home viable. Another hour and the keeper of the pills handed over a pack of 12 suppositories. "What you really require is a pain management package." "We can't hand out opioids at A&E."

The Northern Lights had faded with the early light of dawn. We were half-an-hour shy of meeting the ambulance crew, our caretaker having only just finished dissuading them from forcing entry. One wonders how the call will be logged. In fewer than forty-eight hours my GP would finally relent and prescribe those keenly sought opioids!

Did I feel valued? How likely would I be to recommend the service to someone else? Is this an unofficial recruitment drive for private health insurance? Subscriptions of which are soaring! What does Wes Streeting have in store?

* Tuesday's MRI at the Global Clinic involved no crowds, no groaning, no children curled upon the floor, no eight hour waiting, no hollowed out faces, no wandering confusees. No indeterminate puddle under the seats. Wonder how much my appointment will've cost the NHS?

Another St George's Day Masacre!

Fittingly, it was St George's Day (2024) that saw the Prefect Prime Minister- demonstrably not the Perfect PM- ushering in the UK's new 'defence' spending, (to be) hiked to 2.5% GDB by 2030- six years hence. Wreathed in Union Jack requisite to the post, Sunak battled to insert the tiniest ounce of sincerity, proclaiming that the globe is now at its "most dangerous... since the end of the Cold War." "Fully funded, with no increase in borrowing or debt," well, not the nature of any 'debt' with which Sunak's tax-efficient family are ever likely to have to concern themselves.

Ben Wallace, on the BBC, was performatively beside himself with glee. Cost in mind, will be "fully funded," was put to the former Defence Secretary. But, true to his ilk, Wallace barely broke stride, musing that 'the pledge' might require yet further public spending cuts. The UK is not, as of this moment, upon a war footing, both Sunak and Wallace were keen to outline. Conversation followed predictable lines, flowing fair seamlessly into the EU's NATO commitments. At no point did a US accent venture forth, at no time did the overseer's fatherly head loom above the parapet, nor did it need to.

The sense of security, of which both Tories spoke, becomes vanishingly distant. The mighty US's slipstream, ever deepening, produces quite the shadow to match these days. It would not be unrealistic to recognise Sunak's referenced threat, though better observed reasoning might contest the route taken. Starmer searched in vain for his absent soul- ever the fruitless task- manufacturing a most God-awful Saint's Day charade. The Guardian Newspaper published a more considered article upon St George's Day and the nation's worth, by the former Head of the Labour Party. Related yet more ear-catching, the BBC has recently commissioned a BBC Radio 4 series, 'When It Hits the Fan.' The series is quite the ear opener! Also broadcast on St George's Day, it featured a half-hour conversation with Matthew Freud that seriously- barely short of citing specific instances- put both news outlets to shame. Freud may well have openly traced the source of decline back to dear ol' Uncle Rupert but his damning of current UK journalism was deservingly thorough and widespread, on this occasion biting also at the hand.

Back on the subject of defence spending, neither Sunak nor his minion was pressed to elaborate upon quite how much more dangerous the globe has become in consequence of the nation's funding of Saudi Arabia's bombing of Yemen, nor it's continued funding of the Gazan Genocide. Nor was either man asked to comment specifically upon the UK's lapdog partisan conflagration in the Red Sea and Yemen- no reflection required! Nor was the UK's complicit starving of Palestinians, via cuts to UNWRA funding, broached. Nor its continuation of the arming of Israel and the IDF. Along with the biggest bully, the UK is now fully immersed in the Genocide! Arming the perpetrators. Shackling those who seek to curtail the suffering. Pretending to balance evidence of mounting war crimes against the latest Israeli apologist! Obfuscation around the genocide! Little wonder that certain UK politicians are so very wary of the ICJ?

In order, the three news items that followed, hot on the heels, may have raised many eyebrows, many shackles! Each could be linked, more closely than through monies alone.

Next came the flag-waving pronouncement that the first Rwanda flights were booked and warming upon the tarmac. So, when those betrayed souls who have been granted asylum here find themselves still to be marched up the boarding steps, will we UK citizens be permitted to question quite how the UK's commitments towards the Refugee Convention will be defending those asylum-seekers; those who have been granted protection within the 'safe' country sought? Presumably, UK militia will, in future, be expected to work at the behest of a government that is in breach of international law, more than it will be required to defend the human rights of citizens within the UK? Curious. Must our safety, henceforth, to be so very dependent upon our neighbour's jeopardy?

Then came the continuation of the Post Office saga, injustices meted out to the Postmaster-generals! High Management lining up to worm their ways from the spotlight of culpability, demonstrably also not defending the rights of the citizenry!

Next upon a conveyor-belt of values the UK's militia may be tasked with defending came the UK's waterways and all that they stand for! Could it be that, unbeknownst to us, water companies have been charged with laying down an encircling slick, through which all those (not) illegal asylum-seekers may find themselves having to swim, or wade? Further addition to the pledged 2.5%! 'To discharge or not to discharge?' that has become the question.

One may be forgiven for, perhaps, wondering quite what the UK's militias will actually be charged with defending? And along who's borders? It doesn't seem to be us or, in any manner, upon our behalf. Are those bells, I hear?

St George, of course, was far more Middle Eastern than ever he was British. We could speculate as to who might, with a modern day twist, be represented by the dragon... and who might be aiding and abetting this dragon.

Which Hoop Next, Please?

When Israel, yet, yet and yet again, targeted aid workers- it could as readily have been medics, teachers, children, pregnant mothers, journalists, innocent civilians of many hues- the BBC was almost beside itself with... (?) Completing the sentence proves quite a challenge. 'Topographagnosia' might almost fit the bill, yet topographagnosia implies that there might be a suitable route from this quagmire. Perhaps 'inadequacy,' again, almost works? But, in truth, nothing quite does.

The BBC is but one amongst many to have backed itself into a corner. The flag behind which it has elected to operate has been torn asunder and the corporation lies now butt naked before the nation, and the wider globe! The Conservatives are exactly where one would expect, no change there! The Guardian, formerly a paper of 'certain' values, has thoroughly defecated the nest! The Labour Party has, many believe, shamed itself and betrayed its membership and its values, to an even greater degree. Sir Keir Rodney Starmer, former Head of the Crown Prosecution Service, would almost be able to continue on as before, almost. It is merely his given inability to commit to something- to anything- that rather now finds (most of) the Parliamentary Labour Party in its very own category, 'without label.' Other MSM outlets range somewhere betwixt the BBC's 'inadequacy,' and that of the nation's more reactionary sites. That being, without platform to comment.

Topographagnosia is the inability to recognise salient environmental stimuli. One can observe that it does not quite fit the Corporation, rather it (almost) fits the current face of the BBC, as of Wednesday 3rd April, two days after the Israeli targeting of three separate World Central Kitchen vehicles. The 'current face' being that which the BBC wishes to hide behind, if the nation continues to permit it so to do.

Reeves, of Starmer's Labour, has said the Tory Government should publish any legal advice it has received regarding the selling of (yet more) military arms to (the rogue nation of) Israel. Sir Alan Duncan has 'strongly condemned Israel's killing of seven (more) aid workers. Channel Four's Krishnan Guru-Murthy has made easily one of the better shows, amongst a shamefully poor media reaction, when he almost lost his cool in conversation with Israel's (for the present) David Mencer- the list of Israeli monsters who are prepared to sell what once may have resembled a soul seems almost endless. Mencer, for those who have not yet recognised the face, was formerly head of Labour (UK) Friends of Israel. He has gone straight from Labour (UK) to a position of more blatant Israeli lobbying but, to point this out, would likely be labelled as anti-Semitic, even though it is fact. Feinberg, White House National Security Spokesman, has ventured so very far as to describe the targeted attack upon WCK as a "possible mistake." Wow! Even forensic Starmer, himself, has not gone quite so far as to re-state, 'I do think that Israel has that right.'

In the same time frame Israel has also targeted the Iranian Embassy in Syria. The rogue nation's imagined license to lay siege to a widening range of targets grows more assumed by the day. How far the globe now finds itself from having to re-imagine an attack upon any Western site seems ever more slender! Three of the latest Gazan casualties are British; is the globe any longer so very far from Israel presuming license now to eliminate anyone with whom it disagrees, anywhere! Except, maybe, the mighty US of A. Perhaps, we are fast approaching the state of play whereupon we could (almost) guarantee that an Israeli 'act' upon 'British' soil would find a couple of apologists within UK government? Perhaps?

But, back to the BBC. 3rd April saw the Corporation tying itself into ugly knots, with an insultingly misleading, contention, 'how could Israel have made such a mistake?' The indignant Krishnan Guru-Murthy proved unprepared to countenance such blatant naivety. Truth is, it's all rather too late! The rogue state has too often been given license and cover for its Genocidal acts! Pedalling back from here now seems almost impossible. Whatever route the UK (and other enabling states) elects for the move it's bound to present as ugly!

As of 9th April the BBC seemed to be going with the line, 'how could such a mistake have been allowed to happen?' The 'news' item that I caught preceded a very lengthy and almost uninterrupted monologue by yet another IDF spokesperson. Enabling. Of one detail we can be sure: the action was not a mistake!

As even self-proclaimed Israeli apologists have recently been heard to utter, 'It now seems likely/possible that three British aid workers have just been killed with UK produced/armed missiles.'

* Added on 11th: Upon an obliquely related issue, the UK is also failing to meet its global climate obligations, as of COP 28 (30 November to 12 December 2023). So, with a clear mind as where the political UK stands with regards to integrity, honesty, humanity and all that is half-decent, I have written to Lord Cameron to make a suggestion that his government doubles up on its military flights to Palestine/Israel by packing both arms and aid onto the same aircraft. I hope he recognises irony when he encounters it- he doesn't seem to recognise Genocide!

Lies, Lies, and Colonialism

Humankind has waved-off previous messages, winging out into the wide black yonder. Both Voyager missions had on board a variety of examples of humankind's historical and other achievements, as well as selected images that might best convey a sense of wonder for what the planet has achieved. There were messages in many different languages, music through the ages- quite what extra terrestrials will make of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring?- and various images, mostly photographs. There's a Chinese dinner party, a factory interior, the Great Wall of China, an X-ray of a human hand, rush hour traffic in Thailand. On 21st March the BBC were light-heartedly discussing what should or could be sent upon the next mission. I think the programme was PM, some time shortly after 17:00; two women- one scientist, one stand-up comic, who may well have been Josi Long *- were in agreement that 'other' things should be included, not merely a selection of humanity's best!

One of the pair said, 'Some of humanity's worst.' The other ventured, 'More every-day stuff- children's doodles, not just high art.' I think it was the comedian who suggested, 'Elon Musk's Twitter/X thread. 'The general message seemed to be that just sending the very best, or the more functional, really wasn't an accurate cross-section of humanity, nor humanity's impact upon the wider planet. The short discussion remained very gentle, nothing too controversial for the BBC!

There is now a considerable collection of, shall we term them, 'concerns,' piling up for the entire global ecosystem. There has been much talk of regulation of AI of late, the latest upon a growing list. Another, far less often broached, therefore minor, item has been the idea, held by some non-academics, that there might be risk attached to drawing attention to the richness of our home planet; we may not be the only species currently searching out amongst the stars, for other 'suitable and life-supporting' planets. Academics have countered with the observation that any species capable of deciphering the thousands of messages, also of traversing such wide expanses, will likely already be well ahead of the curve, well in advance of 'our' curve!.

Concerning humanity's current Earthbound trajectory, given that chances of extraterrestrial 'contact' may happen as distantly as millions of years into an uncertain future, whence trajectories might again converge, there must be a more than even chance that any eventual visitors are likely to be met by a planet uncluttered with the human species.

Regardless, Voyager(s) has been furnished with information designed to present the Earth and its self-appointed ruling species in a positive light. So, even the opening premise turns out to have been based upon a contradiction. Rather 'farmers as guardians of the countryside' extrapolated to encompass an entire planet. That is to state, more bluntly, that it is based upon a lie! A gentler slant might argue that it is 'based upon a current lie.' Humanity is ever boastful of its unmet aspirations, ever in denial of its failings, capable of such creativity, such wanton destruction!

Without need to search through the entirety of Voyager's greetings we may assume that mention of humankind's thirst for war will have been omitted. Neither, that messaging will have boasted about the more sinister uses to which humankind's advanced technologies are, so often, devoted- 'Here we are, armed to the teeth!,' or perhaps, 'Behold, hatred for our fellow beings!' Not quite, 'Welcome, come in peace!'

Is it a sort of arrogance that argues humankind it's self-appointed status of home superiority, an assumption, an oversight? Is it likely that any more-advanced extraterrestrial species will want to break bread with humankind that devotes quite so much time to atomising its fellow beings?

26th March, BBC early evening news was eager to show, and to interview, RAF flight personnel preparing to deliver much needed aid packages to Gaza. Flights were being permitted the most minute 'window,' within which to operate. A huge pat upon the back for the RAF! Interviewees spoke of a need to target the drop very precisely along the southern coast, so as not to cause yet further casualties amongst desperate Palestinians. Bizarrely, neither RAF personnel, nor BBC reporting, seemed aware that the RAF has been undertaking regular flights, via Cyprus, delivering unacknowledged items to Israel, for these past months. I doubt there will be room for evidence of such misinformation aboard the next Voyager flight.

Immured in faux-communication, the UK and the BBC prides itself upon drawing attention to specific instances of hypocrisy. No site, other than the BBC, prides itself more upon its tenacious thirst for honesty, when exposing overseas injustice, some injustices, some regimes. ''BBC Verify' is dedicated to examining the facts and claims behind a story to try to determine whether or not it's true.' They'll be able to tell the listener that aid flights to Gaza really did happen. 'They'll be fact-checking, verifying video, countering disinformation, analysing data and - crucially - explaining complex stories in the pursuit of truth.' They'll be able to inform the listener that the UK has backed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. But will they be able, or prepared, to verify whether the RAF continues to service both advertised flights, as well as those of a more covert nature, at the behest of Israel? Will BBC Verify weigh up whether the UK cutting off aid to UNWRA is enabling Israel to kill yet more Palestinian children than the UK finally voting for a ceasefire at the UN is likely to save? Dear BBC, which snippets of information, do you consider, should the globe place aboard the next Voyager mission?

Maybe, begin with a touch of introspection?

* apologies to Josi Long, if it was indeed you.